Sweater



Aug. 29, 1939.

C. H.A MARTIN SWEATER Filed July 7, i938 Z, Zefiail? 64? 2.?

f vvvvvvv A15/Q6 lv INVENTOR )fuma/L7 A'r'ro S) Patented Aug. 29, 1939 PATENT OFFICE SWEATER Catherine H. Martin, 'Westport, Conn., assigner to Lord & Taylor, New York, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application July 7, 1938, Serial No. 217,847

7 Claims.

The present invention relates to wearing apparel and, more particularly, to a sweater construction formed in such fashion as to provide for greater comfort, t and style in wearing the garment, and for a more practical and simple manufacture thereof. More specifically, the novel features of the present invention relate to the shoulder construction by means of which the shape of a knitted garment is such that it naturally conforms, susbtantially, to the contour of the shoulder of the wearer.

It is generally recognized that, in a. knitted garment, the. shoulder portion is the portion of the garment that presents the greatest difculty in providing a proper t so that the comrt'. and wearing qualities of the garment may e adequate In previous constructions, the body of the sweater has been formed with arm holes or seyes to which the sleeve is secured, the sleeves being formed and attached to the body of the sweater in such fashion that, in the normal posi- 'tion of the garment, they extend straight out from the body. When the sweater is Worn and the arms fall naturally to thesides of the wearer, there results a stretching in the sleeve and shoulder portion and across the chest which tends to oull the neck portion of the sweater outwardly, stretch the sleeves, causing binding across the 5 oulders and chest and bust, and otherwise to Vnder the garment uncomfortable, unsightly, impair its serviceability, and cause it to wear out sooner.

An object of the present invention, accordingly, is to provide a sweater construction in J.; which the body and sleeves are so formed that, in the normal position of the sweater, the sleeves lie at the sides of the body portion thereof rather than extending outwardly as characteristic of other constructions.

A further object of the invention is to provide a sweater construction of the above character wherein the shoulder portions of the garment are designed and constructed so that they t the normal curvature of thc shoulders and arms, thus avoiding objectionable stretching and providing a serviceable and properly fitting garment. These and other objects are attained by forming the shoulder portions of the sweater in such fashion that they extend outwardly beyond the sides of the sweater and so that the sleeves naturally depend or hang inside and beneath the extremities of the shoulder portions of the garment in much the same Way that the wearers arm is contoured. This may be done in several 55 Aways and, in order that the invention may be understood more fully, it is described herein in connection with two constructions which are illustrated in the accompanying drawing, wherein:

Figure l is a front view of a sweater constructed in accordance with the present invention;

Figure 2 is a diagrammatic illustration of the various parts of the form and construction of the sweater shown in Figure l, arranged in their relative positions but without being assembled;

Figure 3 is a view in section taken on the line 3 3 of Figure l and looking in the direction of the arrows;

Figure 4 is a View in section taken on the line 4--4 of Figure 1 and looking in the direction of the arrows;

Figure 5 is a view similar to Figure 1, showing a modified form of sweater;

Figure 6 is a diagrammatic illustration of the sleeve and shoulder construction of the modied form of the invention shown in Figure 5.

Referring to the accompanying drawing, and particularly to the construction shown in Figures 1, 2, 3 and 4, a garment such as a sweater is illustrated as being formed of any suitable material knitted in any well known fashion. The garment consists of front and back panels, I and 2, respectively, each of which is rectangularly formed with top edges 3, bottom edges and side edges 5. The bottom of each of the panels I and Z may be formed with suitable ribbing in order that, as illustrated in Figures 1 and 5, the bottorn of the sweater may be drawn closely against the body of the wearer.

Each sleeve is similarly formed and consists of a rectangularly shaped piece E, the outer edge 'I of which may be also formed with ribbing so that it will also rit the arm. The edges 8 and 8 of the sleeve portion are substantially parallel and terminate in an inner edge El which is adapted to be secured toadjacent portions of the garment, as will be presently described.

The top of the sweater is formed with shoulder portions it which are of rectangular shape and have outer edges Il, inner edges I2 and front and back edges I3 and I4, respectively.

In assembling the sweater, the edges 8 and 8 are secured to the adjacent side edges 5 of the front and back panels I and 2, along the seams indicated at I5 in Figure 1. The sleeve portions 6 may, as illustrated, be formed to be longer than the seams I5 and, where the seams i5 terminate, the Opposite edges 8 of the sleeve 6 are Sewed together as will be readily understood from Figure 1. In this fashion, the sides 5 of the front and back panels I and 2 are united by a seam which extends from the bottom portions 4 upwardly to the point at which it merges with the seam which secures the edges 8 together. From this point, at each side of the garment, the seam continues into the .front and back seams I5 which unite the upper portions of the edges 8 to the adjacent Dortionsof the edges 5 of the front and back panels.

The edges Il and II of the sleeve and shoulder portions, respectively, are united by a suitable seam illustrated at IG in Figure 1, and the portions of the sleeves 6 which extend beyond the edges I3 and I4 of the shoulder portions I0 are gathered or shirred and united to the edges I3 and I4 of the adjacent shoulder pieces. This is illustrated at I'I in Figure l. The adjacent portions of the edges I3 and I4 are then united with the front and back panels I and 2 by the seams I8, also as illustrated in Figure l.

A collar I9 is then secured to the adjacent edges 3 of the front and back panels and I2 of the shoulder portions, thus completing the garment. It will be observed that each element of the garment is of rectangular formation, thus greatly facilitating the manufacturing operation and adapting it to machine knitting. The construction of the individual elements will be seen to be such that, when these rectangularly shaped elements are assembled, a shapely and well-tting garment results. The assembled construction is such that the shoulder portions extend outwardly beyond the edges of the panels so that the adjacent ends of the sleeve portions normally lie inside and beneath the extremities of the shoulder portions and thus adapt themselves to the shoulder contour of the wearer so that the garment is not stretched or distorted during use.

In the construction shown in Figure 5, the shoulder and sleeve portions are formed in a modified manner. The sleeves are formed in such fashion that the knitting thereof extends at least partially inwardly toward the collar. For example, the sleeve portions 20 are knitted with a shoulder portion 2I having tapered side wings 22 formed with edges 23. The sleeve portions proper are formed with edges 24 which, when the garment is assembled, are secured to the edges 23, as illustrated in Figure 5. This causes the shoulder portion 2I to be drawn in, as illustrated in Figure 5, providing the necessary shoulder extremity extending outwardly beyond the edges of the panels and a sleeve portion which normally lies inside and beneath the extremity. The extension 2I may terminate at an edge 25 or the knitting may continue so that the shoulder pieces 26 will be formed integrally with the sleeves 2|] in a continuous knitting operation. The tapered wings 22 are also formed with edges 2T, of course, which, in the assembled position, are united to the adjacent front or back panel by -a continuation of the seam I5.

It will be observed that, in each modification, the shoulder portions ID and 2B may be formed integrally with the sleeve portions 6 and 20, respectively, and also, if desired, the front and back panels may vbe shaped somewhat from the rectangular formation illustrated without departing from the scope of this invention. It is essential, however, that the sweater be formed with a shoulder portion which normally extends outwardly beyond the adjacent edge of the front and back or body portion of the sweater Vand that the sleeve portion be so formed that the adjacent end may normally lie inside and beneath the extremity of the shoulder portion and thus extend downwardly to conform to the contour of the shoulder.

While the invention has been described with specific reference to the construction illustratedr in the drawing, it is not to be limited save as defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

l. In an assembled sweater having front, back and shoulder portions, an extension onthe shoulder portion which extension in the normal position of the fabric projects outwardly from said front and back portions, and a sleeve member secured to said shoulder extension and having side edges secured to said front `and back portions, whereby in the normal position of the fabric said sleeve member extends downwardly at an angle to the shoulder extension.

2. In an assembled sweater having front, back and shoulder portions, an extension on the shoulder portion which extension in the normal position of the fabric projects outwardly from said front and back portions, and a sleeve member having a topedge secured to the outer edge of the shoulder extension and having side edges secured to said front and back portions, whereby in the normal position of the fabric, said sleeve mem-ber is positioned downwardly at 'an angle to said extension.

3. In an assembled sweater having front, back and shoulder portions, an extension on the shoulder portion which extension in the normal position of the fabric projects outwardly from said front and back portions, said extension having an end and side edges, and a sleeve member having a top and -side edges, the midportion of the sleeve end edge being secured to' the top edge of the shoulder extension, the remaining portions of the sleeve top edge being secured to the side edges of the shoulder extension, and the side edges of the sleeve member being secured to the said front and back portions, whereby in the normal position of the fabric the sleeve member is positioned downwardly at an angle to the shoulder extension.

4. In an assembled sweater having front, back and shoulder portions, an extension on the shoulder portion which extension in the normal position of the fabric projects outwardly from said front and back portions, said extension having an outer edge, and a sleeve member having top and side edges, said top edge being of greater length than the outer edge of the extension, the midportion of the sleeve top edge being secured to the end' portion of the extension edge, the remaining portions of the sleeve top edge being secured in a shirred fashion to the front and back portions of the shoulder extension edge, and the side edges of the sleeve member being secured to the sai-d front and back portions of the sweater, whereby in the normal position of the fabric the sleeve member extends downwardly at an angle to the shoulder extension.

5. An assembled sweater comprising front and back panels having side edges, a shoulder panel joining said front and back panels, an extension on said shoulder panel which in the normal position of the fabric extends outwardly from the sides of the panels, a sleeve member having side edges secured to the side edges of the front and back panel-s, and having an end edge of which the midportion is secured to the end edge of the shoulder extension and the remaining portions of the sleeve end edge are secured to the front and back edges of the shoulder extension, whereby in the normal position of the fabric, said sleeve extends downwardly from the shoulder extension at an angle thereto.

6. In an assembled sweater having front, back and shoulder portions, a member formed with tapered side wings the tapered edges of which are secured to adjacent edges on the member to form a shoulder extension which in the normal position of the fabric extends outwardly from the front and back portions of the sweater and to form a sleeve portion which in the normal position of the fabric extends downwardly at an angle to the shoulder extension, said sleeve portion having side edges secured to the front and back portions of the sweater.

7. An assembled sweater comprising front and back panels having side edges, a shoulder panel joining said front and back panels, an extension on said shoulder panel formed with tapered side wings the tapered edges of which are secured to adjacent edges on the extension to form a shoulder portion which normally extends outwardly from the front and back panels, and to form a sleeve portion which normally extends downwardly from said shoulder portion, said sleeve portion having side edges secured to the side edges of the front and back panels.

CATHERINE H. MARTIN.

CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION. a Patent No. 2,171,220. l August 29, 1959.

CATHERINE -H. MARTIN.

It is hereby certified that error appears in the printed specification Yof the above numbered patent requiring correction as follows: Page 2, lsecond column, line '59, claim 5, for the words end edge being secured to chel top read top edge being secured tothe end; and that the said Letters Patent.shouldbe read Vwith this correction therein that the same may conform to the record of the casein the Patent Office.

Signed and sealed this 5rd day of October',A A. D. 1959.

Henry Van Arsdalef.,

(Seal) Acting Commissioner of Patents. 

